Doctor who: The Cats of Earth
by Rowan Law
Summary: Cats are going missing without a trace. It's happening in all the clans. What could be happening? Why hasn't StarClan warned them? What has happened? Who will save them? Surely not these two mysterious cats who have shown up out of nowhere...
1. Allegiances

**Disclaimer- I do not own Warriors or Doctor Who. **

* * *

**Allegiances**

* * *

**THUNDERCLAN**

Leader   
**Petalstar-** Long-haired tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes.

Deputy  
**Mallowpelt-** Light brown tabby tom.

Medicine Cat  
**Rockpoppy-** Slate grey tom with yellow eyes.  
**Apprentice, Mintpaw**

Warriors (Toms, and she-cats without kits):  
**Snowcloud-** White tom with green-gold eyes.  
**Loudnose-** Large black tom with white paws.  
**Whiteash-** White-and-gray she cat.  
**Apprentice, Bluepaw**  
**Frostblaze-** Dark brown tom, blue eyes.  
**Apprentice, Stripepaw**  
**Emberear-** Golden she-cat with flame colored patches.  
**Sootwing-** Gray tom.  
**Firestorm-** Flame-colored she-cat with amber eyes.  
**Apprentice, Brightpaw**

Apprentices (Cats more than six moons old, in training)  
**Brightpaw-** Golden brown she-cat with yellow eyes.  
**Bluepaw-** Black tom with blue eyes.  
**Mintpaw-** Pale brown she-cat with amber eyes.  
**Stripepaw-** Grey tom with black stripes.

Queens (She-cats who have or are expecting kits)  
**Yellowflower-** Golden brown pelt with yellow eyes, mother of Littlekit, Nettlekit, Dewkit and Weaselkit.  
**Goldenface-** Golden brown pelt with green eyes.

Elders (Retired warriors and queens)  
**Mudflower-** Elderly she-cat with a mud-brown pelt.  
**Copperweb-** Copper-colored tom with long legs.

**SHADOWCLAN**

Leader  
**Shadowstar-** Dusk colored tom with amber eyes.  
**Apprentice, Midnightpaw**

Deputy  
**Foxfur-** Dark ginger she-cat with green eyes.

Medicine Cat  
**Oakbird-** Pale brown tom with amber eyes.

Warriors (Toms, and she-cats without kits)  
**Nightclaw-** Jet black tom with green eyes.  
**Tallcrow-** Black she-cat with tall, gangly legs.  
**Scorchtail-** Dusty gray tom with yellow eyes.

Apprentices (Cats more than six moons old, in training)  
**Midnightpaw-** Black she-cat.

Queens (She-cats who have or are expecting kits)  
**Nightweb-** Light brown pelt, mother of Willowkit.

Elders (Retired warriors and queens)  
**Beechfoot-** Dusty brown coat, formerly medicine cat.

**WINDCLAN**

Leader  
**Swiftstar**- White-and-gray tom.

Deputy  
**Pinebird-** Very short white haired she-cat.  
**Apprentice, Featherpaw**

Medicine Cat  
**Mossfoot-** Dark brown tabby tom.

Warriors (Toms, and she-cats without kits):  
**Mothear-** Pale gray tom.  
**Apprentice, Swiftpaw**  
**Robinflight-** Tortoiseshell ginger she-cat with amber eyes.  
**Apprentice, Brackenpaw**  
**Tornfoot-** Pale brown she-cat with a limp in her front left foot.

Apprentices (Cats more than six moons old, in training)  
**Swiftpaw-** White-and-brown tom.  
**Brackenpaw-** Dark grey and black tabby tom.  
**Featherpaw-** Pale gray she-cat with yellow eyes.

Queens (She-cats who have or are expecting kits)  
**Poppyjay-** Small dusky brown pelt.  
**Mistyfeather-** Fluffy long haired fur.

Elders (Retired warriors and queens)  
**Dapplewhisker-** Unusually spotted silver she-cat.  
**Heatherbark-** Smoky black she-cat.

**RIVERCLAN**

Leader  
**Icestar-** Dark gray tom with a white underbelly and ice blue eyes.

Deputy  
**Rushstone-** Thickset tom.

Medicine Cat  
**Rowanpelt-** Ginger tom.  
**Apprentice, Ripplepaw**

Warriors (Toms, and she-cats without kits):  
**Frostwing-** White she-cat.  
**Mistywater-** Sleek silver she-cat with green eyes.  
**Apprentice, Rainpaw**  
**Snaketail-** Silver tom.  
**Snowlake-** White tom with blue eyes.  
**Apprentice, Streampaw**  
**Dapplefur-** Grey she-cat.  
**Reed-** Broad-shouldered brown tom.

Apprentices (Cats more than six moons old, in training)  
**Ripplepaw-** Dark grey tabby tom.  
**Rainpaw-** Dark grey tom.  
**Streampaw-** Dark brown she-cat.

Queens (She-cats who have or are expecting kits)  
**Minnowriver-** Silver pelt with green eyes.

Elders (Retired warriors and queens)  
**Honeybird-** dappled golden brown she-cat, mother of Reed's kits, Stormkit, Pebblekit, and Pondkit.

**Cats outside the clans**

**Missy- **Heavy black she-cat who is a kitty pet. She lives at the two-leg place.


	2. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own BBC's TV show ****_Doctor Who, _****nor Erin Hunter's ****_Warrior _****books. **  
_Author's note: Hopefully that's the last time I have to edit this chapter for a while yet. This is like the seven-bajillionth time I've re-uploaded this. Now moving onto the other chapters..._

* * *

**PROLOGUE**

Stripepaw cast a look about himself, realizing he was alone. How had he suddenly got separated from the hunting patrol? He didn't recall wandering off or anything of the sort.

He noticed with apprehension that the trees seemed foreboding, never mind that it was the middle of the day. The morning sun was clearly shining bright, filtering through the treetops to grace the ground below with its golden light.

He slowed his pace to a walk, his dark fur standing up on edge. Nothing seemed to be familiar, though he knew he couldn't be that far from the hollow. It was still the forest, but it didn't look normal, in a manner of speaking. Or at least that was how it seemed; he could just barely make out the normal reassuring scents of his clan members if he held his mouth open. However, there was also the mix of the other clans there as well, as if he was on the border of the four territories. Impossible, of course.

_That's weird. _He thought, rather spooked by now. Why was the forest that he had known all his life suddenly giving him such a sense of dread? His eyes darted around, and he felt his ears pressing back to his head as he crept forward slowly.  
He heard something rustle in the bushes behind him and he jumped, spinning around, his heart rate skyrocketing. When he realized it was just a vole flying out of the bushes, he felt embarrassed, glad there were no warriors around to see him so skittish.

"Why are you so jumpy? You'd think this whole forest was filled with foxes and badgers from the way you're acting!" He mewed to himself softly, trying to shake the clingy feeling of unease.

Straightening himself deliberately, and flattening his fur down, he started confidently padding his way in the direction he thought he had come from, trying his best to ignore the pit in his stomach. He walked steadily on for a minute when another wave of dread washed over him, making him crouch low to the ground again, ears flattening. He heard a noise from behind him, like nothing he had heard ever before. He froze, almost not wanting to turn around and see what was behind him.

The sensation of dread grew stronger and he forced his legs to move as he turned around. Once again, there was nothing there. However, he was not going to stick around to find out if that was actually true or not. He had had enough of this. Whirling back around, he dug his paws into the ground, sprinting as fast as his legs would carry him. There was the sound of something large and ungainly crashing behind him and his terror grew, somehow making his legs run faster, faster than he ever remembered running.

Stripepaw let out a yowl of fright as he saw the hollow of ThunderClan up ahead, but was cut short as he vanished from the woods.

* * *

"Doctor!" Amy's voice rose above the noise of the TARDIS spinning out of control. "What's going on?" Another lurch threw her off the railing and onto the control panel. Sparks were flying everywhere; noises were blaring pounding into Amy's brain. Wires were coming loose of their bindings, dangling dangerously in the way of the occupants.

"I don't know! She's just gone berserk!" He shouted back to Amy. He was flipping switches in what seemed to be a random order, and was running about. He would steady himself on the control panel every time it shook.

She shrieked a little as she was tossed back to the railing like a rag doll. "Like I couldn't tell!" She drawled back, sarcasm dripping off her voice. "What happened?" She kept a tight grip on the railing to avoid being thrown across the paneling again as the TARDIS tilted.

"I can't quite tell, but I believe something hijacked her nanolocators and extra particle sensory photon perception field, which affected the waves of the polarized holiods!"

Amy rolled her eyes at him. "What in the world does _that _mean?"

"Never mind! Just flip that little blue switch over there!" The Doctor would have done it himself, if he had not had his foot and both his hand on the control panel. It seemed to Amy he might even start using his mouth to press buttons soon.

"_Which_ blue switch?" Amy yelled. "There's hundreds of them!" The Doctor let out an exasperated sigh, somehow loud enough to reach Amy's ears over the din of the TARDIS. She ran her hands over all the blue switches she could see, wondering which one it was that he wanted.

"The little one! Yes, yes, that one! Flick it!" Amy flicked the switch upwards and the TARDIS came to a complete stop, making the normal landing sound. The Doctor removed himself from his position on the control panel. Racing down the steps, he threw open the doors, flooding the TARDIS' interior with natural sunlight from the outside. Amy quickly followed, her red hair catching the sunlight as she did so.

"Where are we?" She asked him, peering over his shoulder.

"It appears we've landed in a forest. Next to a lake. I _like_ lakes." Amy could almost hear the grin in his voice as he soaked in the scene before them. "Let's have look about, shall we?" He said in a cheerful voice, while stepping over the threshold and straightening his bow tie.


	3. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors or Doctor Who.**

* * *

**Chapter One**

**VWHOM VWHOM VWHOM THUD**

Brightpaw jerked out of her slumber as the noise echoed throughout the forest.

_What in the name of StarClan is that awful noise?_ She had never heard anything remotely similar to the sound. She stood and stretched, looking with interest towards the the den exit. That sound had definitely struck her curiosity.

Next to her, Bluepaw stirred in her sleep. _How is she still asleep after all that?_ She wondered as she prodded Bluepaw with a paw, waking the other apprentice up.

"What?" Bluepaw mewed, clearly annoyed by being awoken via prodding. She eyed Brightpaw with a glare.

"Didn't you hear that noise?" Bluepaw gave an irritated sigh.

"No. I was asleep," She nearly growled, standing up and stretching.

"I can't imagine how you could sleep through that awful noise."

Ignoring Brightpaw and looking around at the empty nests, Bluepaw asked, "Where is everybody?" She stepped off towards the exit, perhaps seeking an answer to her question.

Noticing for the first time that the den was devoid of any other cats, Brightpaw replied, "Probably on morning patrol." A few would be helping around the camp as well, she knew. She followed Bluepaw out of the den

"Petalstar!" They heard the voice of Brightblaze ring out in the hollow. The warrior came dashing throughout the entrance of camp, the rest of the dawn patrol following calmly. Brightpaw and Bluepaw stopped, watching the commotion.

"What is it, Brightblaze?" Petalstar asked, emerging from her den. Brightblaze came to a panting stop in the middle of the hollow, looking to Petalstar.

"It-it's Stripepaw! He's gone missing!" Brightpaw's hairs bristled.

_Another cat gone missing? That's the third one this moon! Where have they gone? _Brightpaw was scared. First Mallowpelt, next Snowcloud. Now Stripepaw!

Petalstar jumped down from her perch at the entrance of her den.

"I need a search patrol immediately," She commanded, climbing down from her den. Addressing the four warriors that were gathered around the kill pile, she asked, "Firestorm, Sootwing, and Emberear, will you accompany Brightblaze and I on the search patrol?" They all looked up from their prey and nodded.

"Of course." They put aside their food and stood.

Brightpaw saw her chance to go. She bounded up to her mentor.

"Can I come?" Firestorm was hesitant. She looked to Petalstar and received a nod in answer.

"Just stay close to us." Petalstar said. "We've no idea what is going on. Let's go."

And with that, they left the hollow, Brightpaw signaling her farewell to Bluepaw with a flick of her tail.

* * *

"Look at that, Amy! It's a beautiful lake." The Doctor said with a grin, opening his arms wide in a sweeping gesture towards the body of water. Amy sighed, hearing the TARDIS doors lock behind her. She resisted the urge to turn around and glare at it.

"Don't you have better things to do than lookin' at a lake? Like maybe figuring out why we're here?" She folded her arms.

"Now you, what's wrong with admiring a lake?" The Doctor huffed crossly, placing his hands on his hips. "Just because the TARDIS got a bit out of whack doesn't mean I can't admire a brilliant lake."

Amy stared at him flatly, crossing her arms.

"Oh, you spoil sport. Gimme a minute." The Doctor crouched down and stuck his finger in the mud next to the lake. He then promptly removed it and stuck it in his mouth. He pulled it out and announced, "March, 2011. As for where we are at, the beautiful planet earth." He looked at Amy.

"Anywhere, you know, specific on Earth?" Amy asked. "Maybe somewhere close to my house?" After all, she had been hoping to visit Rory.

"Of course we're somewhere specific! Everywhere has a set of coordinates-"

"You don't know."

The Doctor frowned. "No." Then he paused, grinning mischievously again. "But we can find out!"

Amy sighed, glancing back to the TARDIS._ Of course he can't make it easy. _"Well alright then. Anything important happen in March?"

"No. And my history is flawless." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver, pointing it at the lake.

"As you are so fond of reminding me," Amy muttered under her breath.

"So why are we here?" The Doctor mumbled, clicking his screwdriver on and off. He stood up, examining it, and then tucked his screwdriver back in its place. "No good standing around here." He said with a smile and started walking away from the TARDIS.

"And where do you think you're going, mister?" Amy shouted after him, running to catch up. "We're in the middle of a forest, and we only know the year. There could be anything in here!"

He just shot her a sly look, grinned and said, "Let's go and poke trouble with a stick."

"Do we have to? I just wanted to visit Rory, and then be on our way. Why can't we just hop back into the TARDIS and get a move on to last year?"

"Nope can't do that," The Doctor said, a little too merrily, Amy thought. "She needs time to reboot. Gone a bit jittery. Ooh my, that's a big oak tree." He suddenly ran off in the direction of the biggest oak tree Amy had ever seen with his sonic screwdriver out. Amy rolled her eyes and pursed her lips.

"Can we at least not do the running thing?" She called after him, hands on hips.  
He pretended not to hear, and she sighed and ran towards the oak tree. By the time she got there, he was already putting his sonic screwdriver away. He clapped his hands together looking around.

"Pop quiz. What's a giant, ancient oak doing in the middle of a brand new forest? Well, not quite in the middle..." He rocked back on his heels a little as he glanced to Amy.

She looked at him blankly and asked, "Why not?" He shrugged and frowned. But then it was quickly replaced by his normal smile. "Yes, well, let's get a move on!" And so he dragged Amy off deeper into the forest.


	4. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own DW or Warriors.  
**_Author's Note: Wow, I can really tell I first wrote this chapter at midnight. Even the disclaimer was bad. The edits have definitely improved many things. Enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 2**

The trees seemed peaceful. They didn't give any inclination that there might be a monster hiding behind them, ready to snatch a cat up and carry them off to wherever.

_Of course. Nothing has changed. It's just you,_ Brightpaw thought to herself. But she, and of course, no one else, could deny that cats were disappearing, and no one could tell why. And not even the day was safe anymore; Stripepaw had apparently disappeared while the sun was shining. The others had gone only at night.

The forest had always a place of peace and refuge. But now, it just seemed plain frightening. She jumped as a pinecone dropped from a tree above, heart racing at just the small thing to pull her out of her musings. She felt the tip of her mentor's tail resting on her shoulder in a comforting gesture, and she looked at the red she-cat. Gratitude for her mentor wafted off of her. Firestorm gave a reassuring smile, and trotted ahead again.

Brightpaw followed closely behind, definitely not wanting to be left behind. She was at the back of the patrol, doing the same as all the other cats; looking for anything suspicious, or out of place. They were patrolling as much for the sake of patrolling as on a lookout for Stripepaw, and other lost cats. The apprentice had only disappeared a few hours ago at most. So they thought, maybe, just maybe they'd be able to find him. Yet, there was no sign of him. Only a place where his scent suddenly cut off.

The patrol was headed towards the ancient oak, then they would travel along the borderline, searching for any sign of their lost companions. There was very little hope of rescue for them. Patrols had already scoured the area to find them.

As they were walking, Brightpaw was once again pulled out of her thoughts. This time by an odd smell, one that she reckoned she had never smelt before. The smell seemed to be coming from the patrol's right. She turned her head towards the area, opening her mouth wider to catch the scent.

_There it is. What is that?_ None of the other cats showed any signs that they had smelled it. But she knew that didn't mean it wasn't there. She felt that she had to take a look at it- what if it led to Stripepaw?

"Firestorm! I smell something." She mewed quietly to her mentor, slowing her walk. She nodded in the direction the smell was coming from. Firestorm stopped and opened her mouth wider, to see if she could perhaps see if she could capture what Brightpaw was smelling.

"What is it?" Petalstar asked, turning around as the whole patrol came to a stop. The tortoiseshell padded to Firestorm and Brightpaw. She gazed at them as she asked, "Do you smell something?"

"I don't smell any cats but something else… kind of a two-leg smell. Can Brightpaw and I check it out?" Petalstar rolled this over in her head for a few seconds.

"Just stick together." Petalstar started to lead the patrol away again, and Firestorm and Brightpaw immediately turned and blended into the forest, heading towards the smell that taunted them.

It wasn't just a two-leg they smelt…

* * *

They had taken off to the left of the giant oak, having not a clue where they were at or where they were going. So far, they had only seen trees, plants, and more trees. There had been no clue as to where they were at, or even if they were anywhere near civilization. Or something interesting, as the Doctor obviously hoped.

Amy was walking behind the Doctor. He was humming contentedly to himself, but otherwise they were silent as they trekked through the woods. Amy began to wonder if they were just stuck in the middle of a giant forest with no end.

She was just thinking that they should return to the TARDIS, when the Doctor paused in his step slightly, making Amy nearly run into him.

"What?" Amy asked the Doctor as he caught his step again. She noted the pleasant breeze kicking up, which ruffled her hair.

"Nothing, nothing," the Doctor said, slightly distracted it seemed. Then he perked up, whipping his sonic screwdriver out again. "Look! A bush!" He exclaimed, running off towards whatever it was he had his sights set on.

Amy rolled her eyes. "There are tons of bushes around here, Doctor!" She pointed out with exasperation as she ran after him. _And again with the running thing. We're not being chased by anything or something like that!_

* * *

_Oh good, they're leaving,_ Brightpaw thought with relief as they watched the two-legs suddenly turn and run the other way through the foliage. The male and female two-legs had been headed straight for the ThunderClan hollow. Brightpaw wasn't sure what she and Firestorm would have done otherwise.

"What should we do?" Brightpaw asked Firestorm.

"It's not like Two-Legs haven't been seen around here before. We'll just tell Petalstar what we saw."

"But... what about him?" Brightpaw asked in reference to the male two-leg they had seen.

The female had smelled just like a two-leg should, but he had smelled different.

"He just smelled funny is all. All two-legs are funny anyways," Firestorm mewled back.

"Let's return to Petalstar." She backpedaled out of the bush, and started trotting back to the patrolling party. Brightpaw cast a glance at where the two-legs had went, then turned and followed her mentor.

* * *

"Doctor, what are you doing?" Amy called after the Doctor, pausing to catch her breath. "Stop running already!" She muttered.

The Doctor finally stopped, turning back to Amy, his face serious. "We're not alone in this forest."

"Ooh, getting all spooky on me now, are you?" Amy asked as she finally caught up with him.

"No really, there are things going on here that we don't know about."

"What do you mean?"

"We didn't land here by mistake, Amy," the Doctor said, glancing around with a frown. "Something brought us here."

"And let me guess- we're going to figure out what's going on here instead of turning back and getting into the TARDIS."

The Doctor's face broke into his usual grin. "Now_ there's_ the spirit! Come on then, let's see what this forest has for us!"

As if on cue, Amy caught a shadow out of the corner of her eye, and she turned to it.

"What's that, then?" She murmured to herself when she saw four great oaks off in the distance. She could have sworn they weren't there before. And for some reason, she felt drawn to the trees. Her foot stepped forward before she realized what she was doing.  
She hardly heard the Doctor call her name as she took another step forward, headed for the trees. She only vaguely noticed the trees around her becoming shrouded in mist, the atmosphere changing dramatically. The sun dampened overhead, everything becoming slightly blurred, like a dream. The four oaks stayed in focus however; the only thing Amy could actually see.

She approached the great trees, awed by their size; if she didn't know better, she would have said they touched the sky above. And perhaps they did; when she looked up she could see the tops disappearing into the mists.

She stepped beneath the oaks, feeling a calm feeling wash over her, and she looked about. This was the place she had been called to; she could feel it. But what had taken her here?

Her eyes alighted on a small form sitting in the center of the clearing. A cat, from the looks of it. But it didn't look like an ordinary house cat... it almost looked like it was covered in ice, with a sort of ethereal feel to it. It's coat was a bright white with some golden tones mixed in, and it sat with it's ears erect, almost like it was waiting for something.

Or someone.

It had it's back to Amy, but as she watched, it turned, it's glittering eyes falling on her.

_-I was afraid you would not come,_ a soft voice filled Amy's conscience.

"What do you mean? Who are you?"

_-I am sorry. There is no time to explain. My power is all but gone._

Amy felt a wave of exhaustion come over her suddenly, and she let herself to the ground, lest her knees have out beneath her. She wanted to ask the cat more questions, but her eyes were closing, her movements sluggish. As she closed her eyes, she saw the white cat slowly falling to the ground, eyes focused on Amy, with both desperation and hope mixed in them. Then Amy's eyes fell closed, and it all went black.


	5. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own DW or Warriors.**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Waking up was an odd experience, to say the least. Amy's head felt slow and stuffed with cotton. She didn't exactly remember falling asleep. She had been with the Doctor... And then nothing.

She opened her eyes, and realized she was lying on the ground. So she stood up. But her limbs felt weird, disconnected, out of place. Disorientated, she shook her head, frowning. She was too close to the ground, she realized. She looked down. And that's when she saw her feet- paws.

"Oh my, good Lord. Doctor! I'm a cat!" She wailed frantically, looking around. She saw another cat lying on the ground, curled up, asleep, colored dark brown. Amy knew on instinct that it was the Doctor. Even in cat form, there was no mistaking him- though it certainly was odd to see him sleeping (after all, he hated doing that). She stored that thought for later and ran to him. She prodded him with her paw. "Doctor. Doctor, wake up! Oi!" Her attempts to wake him were in vain.

His breathing was labored. She was no expert on medicine (or on cats, for that matter), but she knew labored breathing was never good.

"Don't you dare get sick on me, buster! I need you to get us out of here and undo this cat thingy!" She said to the Doctor, who was still sleeping. She glared at him, as if that would wake him up.

She sighed. "Fat lot of good you are." She sat down next to him, trying not to panic. Her tail- _her tail_- twitched, and she pawed the ground absentmindedly. "It's your fault you know. If you had done what I told you to do, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"Now where's the fun in that?" She heard the Doctor say. He might have been in cat form, but his voice was still the same.

"You're awake!" Amy said excitedly, jumping up.

"And you're a cat." He observed from the ground. If he had still been in humanoid form, she knew he'd be lounging on the ground instead of just lying on it.

"Have you taken a look at yourself lately?" She said.

"I'm one too, aren't I?" She nodded, feeling a smile curl at the corners of her mouth at him. Suddenly he had a spasm. He yowled in pain, crunching into a ball. Amy started, gasping.

"Doctor! What's wrong?"

"Whatever it did to us-" He had another spasm. "It was only meant for humans. Gaaag!" His claws extended, digging into the ground in pain. He focused on Amy again. "Not Time Lords." He had a spasm once more and then he was quiet.

"Doctor!" Amy cried with dismay. but her cry fell on deaf ears; he was asleep.

And night was descending.

* * *

Brightpaw's ear twitched, and she suddenly found herself on the ground, under her mentor.

"Distractions get you killed," she heard Firestorm say, getting off of her. Brightpaw got back to her feet looking into the forest. "What?" Firestorm asked Brightpaw. She was about to reply when she heard a distant yowl of pain again. Her Mentor also heard it this time, Firestorm's head swinging in the direction it came from.

"What was that?" Brightpaw asked.

"I don't know. Sounded like a cat." Firestorm said distantly.

"Should we go check it out?" Brightpaw asked, the golden cat itching to do something useful.

"It's getting dark..." Firestorm said. Then, seeing the look on her apprentice's face she said, "Oh, let's go. If we be quick, we can be back before sunset."

Brightpaw jumped in delight, racing off towards the sound, Firestorm following in her footsteps.

**A LITTLE LATER...**

They came to a silent stop in the bushes next to the two cats, observing them carefully. There was a dark brown cat lying on the ground and a ginger cat sitting next to him. The dark brown cat's chest was heaving up and down, in an erratic pace, and there was fear radiating off of the ginger cat.

All of a sudden the ginger cat jumped up, fur bristling, ears back, whirling to look in Brightpaw and Firestorm's direction.

"Oi! I know you're there! Come on out!" The she-cat hissed at them. Firestorm and Brightpaw exchanged a look. Stepping out of the bushes, they came into view.

* * *

Amy regarded the two cats, fur still raised. One had a golden coat with yellow eyes, the other flame colored with amber eyes.

"What are you doing here, you two?" She demanded, tail flicking threateningly.

The two cats exchanged glances, then the flame-colored one said, "Well, actually, we were going to ask you what you're doing on ThunderClan territory. Didn't you smell the scent markers?"

"Um..." Amy shifted, not really knowing what to say to that. _They talk just like humans._ Were they really that sophisticated all the time? Even without the TARDIS as a translator?

"Nope, must have missed them. Where are we, then?"

"In ThunderClan territory," The Flame one said. "Are you rogue cats? Kittypets?"

"Not that I have any idea what either of those mean," Amy muttered under her breath. "No, we're not."

"Then what are you? Because you're certainly not clan cats." The flame one sniffed. "In fact, I'd say you smell more like those two-legs we saw earlier today. Especially him." She gave a tail flick in the Doctor's direction. "He smells like the male two-leg we saw. He smelled very... different."

Amy laughed. "I'll be sure to tell him that when he wakes up."

"What's wrong with him, anyway?" The flame cat actually sounded curious.

Amy hesitated, looking back at the Doctor's cat-body lying on the ground. "I... I'm not sure, really. I'm not used to this," she told them honestly.

"Well, we might as well bring him to camp, where we can treat him. We have to take you to Petalstar anyway." Amy blinked. Cats had treatment for sick cats? This kept getting weirder and weirder.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea... I mean, moving him." She shivered as she recalled his awful spasms when he awoke.

"Here, let me look at him." The smaller, golden cat said suddenly, speaking for the first time. "I might be able to tell what's wrong with him." She walked towards Amy and the Doctor as if she was afraid Amy would pounce on her.

She had a good reason to be afraid. Amy watched her carefully as she approached.  
The golden cat looked him over, carefully exposing his belly. She placed her ear against his chest, probably checking for the heart rate. Amy tensed, remembering that he had more than one heart.

The she-cat recoiled away from him as if she had been bitten.

* * *

"Brightpaw, what is it?" Firestorm called.

_I could have sworn I heard a second heart... But no, that's impossible._

"Oh uh," Brightpaw said, realizing the question was directed at her. "He's got a serious fever. We can't move him." She was telling the truth; the cat actually did have a fever, and they couldn't move him, for fear of accidentally making it worse. And a fever might not be all he had, after all. "We have to get Rockpoppy and Mintpaw down here, right away."

Firestorm nodded. "Stay here with him. You-" She flicked her tail at the dark ginger she-cat, "What's your name?"

"What? Oh, it's Amy." Amy told her.

"Amy, come to camp with me. Try to keep up." Firestorm said with a smile. She darted off into the forest, which was getting increasingly dark.

"Wha? Oi! Wait up!" Amy cried, running off after her.

Brightpaw was left alone with the sick cat. The sun was going down, and she was starting to feel fatigue, and slight anxiety at being left alone. Well, not technically alone, but an invalid cat didn't really count.

She looked at the sick cat, thinking._ Two hearts..._ She pressed her ear on his chest again. This time she listened to make sure. She removed her head from his chest, staring at him.

"What are you?" She said softly. She sat there, just looking at him. He looked just like any other cat... but he had two hearts.

Suddenly, she heard a crashing to her left, and she nearly immediately felt a sense of dread. She jumped up looking at the bushes.

"Hello?" She called. She took a few tentative steps towards the bushes, against her better judgement. She was upwind; she couldn't smell whatever or whoever it was. "Is anyone there?" The bushes rattled again.

A dark figure rose out of the bushes, towering over her. She gasped, backstepping, every instinct telling her to run, fear coursing through her body. The Dark figure seemed to be staring right at her. She looked at it for a few moments then turned around, running away from it.

Something crashed into her, panting heavily._ A cat. But who?_ There was no around... but the sick cat, who shouldn't be able to move until tomorrow at the soonest.

"Stay very still." A voice hissed into her ear. "Do not move." She was lying on her belly and she couldn't see the cat on top of her, panting. She squirmed, ignoring the cat's warnings. "Listen! If you want to stay alive,_ do not move!"_ She gave up, lying still, eyes wide, fear coursing through her every vein.

She saw the dark figure move in front of her, moving around. It was searching for something. For her. She could feel her heart beating loudly, and swore it would be able to hear it, or her breathing. Wait, no, she wasn't breathing- her chest had frozen in fear. She watched with terror as it searched for a few more seconds, then swooped off into the night. She let out a sigh of relief.

The cat on top of her rolled off. She jumped up and away, looking at the cat who had probably saved her life. It was indeed the brown cat, and he was obviously having a lot of difficulty standing up.

"How are you awake? You should still be lying down," she exclaimed incredulously. He ignored her question with a shake of his head. He looked around wildly, as if searching for something.

"Where's Amy? I'm the Doctor, by the way." As she stared at him, he nearly collapsed.

"Amy's back at camp, going to get the medicine cat. You need to lay down, Thedoctor."

"She's safe?"

"She's with Firestorm. She'll be fine." She assured him. "I can't say that for you though, so lie back down, and I'll get some moss for bedding." She wanted to ask him what that thing was, but he needed rest, or his fever would grow worse. Although, he was quite lucid for a cat with a fever.

"Alright... What was your name again?" He said, his legs wobbling.

"It's Brightpaw. And you, Thedoctor, need to go back to sleep." She told him, watching him in case he decided otherwise. She was fairly sure she could overpower him if it came to that... He laid down, saving her the trouble.

"Okay, will do, Brightpaw. If the monster comes back, remember- Don't move." His eyes shut.

_Don't move. Just what is he?_


	6. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Amy stepped cautiously through the bramble entrance. The entrance was woven out of brambles, it wasn't naturally there, she noticed.

In the center of the hollow stood a pile of dead animals. She would have been disgusted if she didn't know these cats were wild. They had to catch their own food.

There were four dens on the ground, two of them in the rock, hidden by some plants, and the other two built under bushes.

These cats were amazing, she concluded. Just wait until the Doctor sees them.

"One second, wait here." Firestorm told her. "I'll go get Petalstar." The moon was high up ahead, and Amy watched as she jumped up ledges then disappeared.

"'Wait here'? She really told me to do that?" She muttered to herself, looking around. She creeped around the hollow. When she passed one den she caught the smell of something minty. She also heard movement inside of it. She was about to peer inside, when she heard her name at the other end of the hollow.

"Amy!" She heard Firestorm say. She turned her head sharply and trotted away from the den. She saw the flame cat climbing down the rocks that probably led to whoever Petalstar was. A tortoiseshell cat was climbing down behind her.

She waited at the bottom of the rocks for them.

They reached the bottom of the rocks and the tortioseshell cat stepped forward to Amy. She dipped her head.

"I am Petalstar, leader of ThunderClan. I have heard from Firestorm that you have a sick cat in need of care." Amy nodded.

"That's right." She said, uncomfortable under the leader's gaze.

"Then let us wake Brightpoppy." She nodded to Firestorm and the flame cat walked to the den Amy had smelled the mint at. She focused her gaze on Amy again. "We will be on our way soon."

Firestorm came out of the den with two bleary eyed cats with leaves in their mouths.

"Let's go." Petalstar said as they made their way out of the hollow.

**MEANWHILE...**

Brightheart finished tucking the moss under the Doctor, when she heard a rustling. It was coming from behind her. She turned quickly and stood still, afraid of the monster coming back.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it was just Amy and Firestorm returned with Petalstar, Brightpoppy and Mintpaw. She stepped aside for Brightpoppy and his apprentice.

The two medicine cats rushed up to the sick cat, quickly administering the fever few and other herbs they were carrying. They worked quickly, knowing that his fever was bad and they needed to get it done quickly.

"How is he?" Amy asked the medicine cats, hovering next to him, obviously concerned for him. It was just rolling off of her in waves. Brightpaw could tell that all the other cats could feel it too.

"He'll make a full recovery." Brightpoppy told her, stepping back from the Doctor to let Amy through. "But what he needs now is rest." The tom looked to Petalstar. "He probably shouldn't be moved until morning, and probably won't be awake and lucid until after tomorrow. Also, with cats missing we probably should have a warrior stand guard." Amy perked up at the comment about missing cats, her ears flicking forward. She almost seemed as if she knew something.

"What about missing cats?" She asked Petalstar. The tortoiseshell cat looked at her with distant eyes.

"Around a moon ago, cat started disappearing. The first three went right before the gathering. We've lost two more since. It's happening in all four clans. And StarClan is silent." She said softly.

Brightpaw was going to tell them about the dark figure she had seen, when they all heard a groan. They looked around, searching for the source of the noise.

Brightpaw's eyes settled on the bushes, which were shaking once more. She almost let out a groan.

_Stupid bushes. Stop shaking._ She thought crossly.

This time it was no friendly cat that appeared out of the bushes. It was the dark figure again, rising up out of the foliage. All the cats besides Brightpaw took a step back, not knowing to keep still.

"I think I just discovered the source of the missing cats," Amy said nervously.

She knew she was going to have to say something or all the cats would take off running. Mintpaw was already thinking about it, slowly inching away from it.

"Don't move!" Brightpaw mewed softly, but loud enough that everyone could hear. They all looked at her.

"Why not?" Amy said, her eyes still on the dark figure that was slowly moving towards them with every sound they made.

"It came earlier and he woke up and saved me." She hissed quietly at her. "Now keep still!" Amy did as she said, but the others were still unsure. Luckily the dark figure didn't stick around for very long that time. There was an audible sigh of relief from every one.

Amy ran to Brightpaw. "He woke up? What did he say?" She said excitedly. Brightpaw shifted uncomfortably. Every one was looking at her.

"Well, just that you shouldn't move when the dark figure comes and that he's the Doctor." She said quickly. They all just stared at her for a moment, then looked away. Petalstar cleared her throat.

"Firestorm?"

"Yes, Petalstar?"

"Please stay with the Doctor and Amy for the night." The warrior dipped her head.

"Of course."

"I'll be back at sun up with more warriors to move him to the camp." With a flick of her tail, Petalstar signaled for the rest of the group to come with her. They slowly padded away into the night.


	7. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Amy rose to the Doctor's voice.

"Rise and shine, kitties! I'm sure we have a long, big, great day ahead of us. Oh, yes, rise and shine!" Amy opened her eyes, blinked away the light, and peered at him, irritated. He was stretching his back.

_Blast him. How is he always so full of energy? _Amy thought to herself, groaning. "Can't you stay sick for once?" She pushed herself off the ground, discovering all sorts of aches and hurts from sleeping on the ground. She wondered how the wild cats did it.

"Can't be sick, what, with nasty monsters stealing cats. Not very wise, not at all,Amelia Pond." He tisked at her, and turned. "Now, you'd think Firestorm would be awake by now, us talking and everything." The Doctor padded over to Firestorm, who was still snoring softly, curled in a ball. Amy looked at him in wonder.

"How in the world do you know her name?" She asked him, walking to stand by him. The Doctor looked at her slyly.

"I have my ways." He prodded Firestorm with his paw. The flame colored cat woke with a start. For a moment, she just stared at Amy and the Doctor. Then she asked, "How are you awake? You're suppose to be sick." The Doctor somehow managed to twist his face up in a frown.

"Well, that's a little cold." Firestorm made a face of what Amy took to be a smile.

"That's not really what I meant... Well, now that you're awake, I suppose there's no point in waiting around." The she-cat picked herself up and started walking off, in what Amy assumed to be the direction of camp.

Amy and the Doctor exchanged glances, shrugged, and ran to catch up with Firestorm. And as always, the Doctor was the first one to speak.

"So what's it like being a cat? This the first time I've ever been one." Firestorm looked at him like he was crazy. Which most everyone thought he was. (As Amy pointed out in chapter 2)

"Why in StarClan's name are you asking that? You _are _a cat." The Doctor ignored her and asked another question, "What is StarClan? I don't think I've ever heard of that before, and trust me, I've heard a lot of things. Then again, it's not every day that I'm a cat."

Firestorm rolled her eyes and said, "I should have known that you weren't an ordinary cat."

Amy snorted. "That's a big understatement. But he's not going to leave you alone 'till he knows, so you might as well tell him about this StarClan."

Firestorm gave an exasperated sigh. "They're the four clans' ancestors. When you die, you go to StarClan. That is, if you've stayed true to the warrior code."

The Doctor cocked his head. "I haven't heard about this warrior code either."

Firestorm gave him a sideways look. "I'll let someone else explain it to you." She increased the pace. "Now I have a question for _you._ Why do you smell so funny Doctor?" That actually made the Doctor trip over his paws a little bit.

"I _smell funny_?" He chuckled. "That's a first."


End file.
